While alligators and crocodiles share a lot of similarities and are often confused, there's an easy way to tell them apart.
One generally reliable
rule is that alligators have U-shaped heads, while crocodiles are
V-shaped - which can be remembered by noting that "A" in alligator comes
before "C" in crocodile, and "U" comes before "V." If you're still confused, try to get a look at their mouth. In alligators only the upper teeth can be seen with the jaws
closed. In crocodiles upper and lower teeth
can be seen.
This incredible image shows a lioness attacking a crocodile as she tries to cross a stream in Africa. But what's even more incredible is why the lioness is attacking: It wasn't just to save herself, it was to protect her lion cubs from the deadly predator.
This photo is just one in a sequence that show the incredible events unfolding. The photographer told the Daily Mail: 'I watched a lioness carefully move out into the channel and then there was a huge splash in the water,' she said.
'The sequence of six pictures of the real action were taken in one second.
'Luckily for the lioness the crocodile did not have an opportunity to do the death roll because her mouth was kept closed between the front legs of the lioness,' the photographer added.
'It was only after checking my pictures on the camera viewer that I really realised what I had witnessed. Luckily the story had a happy ending because all the lionesses and cubs made it safely to the other bank.'
To read more, and see the entire incident unfold, visit the Daily Mail website.
Long, sharp fangs. Rows and rows of glistening teeth. You have to admit, it's the stuff horror movies are made up. It's also the stuff found in nature, as evidenced by these animals that all have scary teeth.
The gharial is a member of the crocodile family native to the southern region of Asia. Its long snout houses approximately 25 to 30 interlocking, razor-sharp upper and lower teeth on each side
The Goliath tigerfish can get up to a maximum size of 5 feet and 154 pounds. But its person-like size isn't the scariest part. That would be the large, dagger-like teeth in its mouth which can slice a catfish in half.
The hagfish use their scary-looking teeth to pull off hunks of flesh from larger fish. They not only feed on the outsides, but can also enter the inside of the fish and eat them from the inside - sometimes while the other fish is still alive!
Hyenas have powerful jaws; they use their teeth to catch their prey rather than their claws. Their teeth are sharp but also strong enough to crack and chew bones.
Those little nips your dog gives you doesn't seem so bad now, does it?
I’ve decided to take a break today from sharing animal facts with you guys to show you some amazing animal hand art I ran across on Illusion King. The detail of this artwork is incredible! In fact, I’d feel bad about washing my hands if I had any of these painted on me; enjoy!
Though they are similar in appearance to pigs, tapirs are actually most closely related to rhinoceroses and horses. There are four living tapir species, all with similar trunk-like prehensile snouts that are capable of gripping items. The Baird’s, Mountain, and Brazilian tapir are all native to South or Central America; the Malayan tapir is only found in Thailand and Sumatra.
Baird's tapir - Photo by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen
Tapirs are the largest land mammals in South America and can weigh more than 800lbs. They live mainly in forests, and all except the Mountain tapir usually live close to water. Despite their bulky builds, tapirs are excellent swimmers and spend much of their time in the water cooling off, feeding or hiding from predators.
Tapirs are foragers and eat a large variety of terrestrial and aquatic plants, fruits and berries. Their extended snouts can be used to strip plants and pluck certain berries. When on land the majority of this feeding is done on well-worn forest trails, usually leading to a water source.
Malayan tapir - Photo by Sasha Kopf
Tapirs are very solitary animals; other than when mating or rearing young they will spend most of their lives in complete isolation. Tapirs can begin reproducing at 3-5 years of age, but with a gestation time of up to 400 days, reproduction only occurs every two years or so. However, tapirs are fairly long-lived, and even in the wild can live over 30 years.
Baby tapirs are covered in spots and stripes.
Due to their imposing size, tapirs have few predators. Big cats such as tigers and leopards have been known to hunt them, but this is rare. Other occasional predators include American crocodiles and anacondas.
Due to hunting and habitat loss, all species of tapir are currently considered vulnerable or endangered.
It's an old joke, but here goes. What's worse than a giraffe with a sore throat? Why, a crocodile with a toothache, of course. But the crocodiles along the Nile don't have much to worry about thanks to the Eqyptian Plover. Crocodiles are rather messy eaters. Their jaws can open and close, but can not move from side to side, neither can they use their tongues to propel food around their mouths. The arrangement of their teeth—still in prehistoric form—does not allow them to chew. All of this simply means that the crocodile is a biter, tearer and gulper of food. Such practices mean a lot of food gets caught in a crocodile's teeth, attracting parasites, bacteria and leeches.
You'd think that would lead to one sore mouth, and it would if not for the Egyptian Plover. Crocodiles invite the plover over for a meal by beaching themselves, opening their mouths wide and remaining very still. The plover will approach and actually enter the croc's mouth. Once there, the bird will set about gobbling food scraps and parasites. Another win/win.
